“Anybody’s who’s willing to and excited about bringing private investment to the state of Missouri — I’m ready and willing to work with them,” he said. “And if we’re in a situation where we have public land and MoDOT can make infrastructure improvements to that land, [I'm] absolutely willing to sit down with folks and talk about the kind of infrastructure investments that we need to make” — a reference to site work that could cost millions of dollars.

Greitens’ spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a question of why the statement was never posted on social media, where the governor regularly puts announcements.

Yet, the newly public stance may make things easier for proponents of bringing Major League Soccer to St. Louis — especially if city voters approve two ballot initiatives aimed at devoting taxpayer funds to the proposed facility.

MoDOT spokesman Bob Brendel has said the commission voted last fall to enter into negotiations with the St. Louis to “reach a fair-market price for the land in question within two years.”

Greitens said Thursday he hadn’t seen a proposal to sell the MoDOT land, but added that, “if there was a situation where there was state land that we wanted to rent to a private investor who’s going to bring jobs – all of those things are on the table” to bring about “more jobs and higher pay.”

During his campaign and the changeover in power, Greitens expressed strong opposition to using taxpayer money to build sports facilities, which he reiterated Thursday.

“I do not believe in using taxpayer money to build stadiums,” he said. “And I don’t believe in using taxpayer money to build a stadium for soccer in St. Louis.”

The social media post was to highlight how Greitens' statements derailed efforts to secure tax credits for the project. It also touched on the transportation commission’s involvement in the project:

The above image is a screenshot of an email entitled "REVISED DRAFT Soccer Stadium Post." Greitens spokesman Parker Briden sent it to members of Gov. Eric Greitens' staff during aldermanic debate over funding the MLS stadium.

Credit From a St. Louis Public Radio Sunshine request

Briden again emailed the post to his colleagues on Jan. 26 — the day the ballot measure was passed out of committee. But it was never posted on Facebook or Twitter.

State involvement in any stadium is still a long way off. St. Louis voters would first have to to approve two ballot initiatives on April 4 to allow taxpayer money to go toward building a stadium. Plus, Major League Soccer must to award one of four expansion franchises to St. Louis; 12 cities are in the running.

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